Australia has sustained its deadliest day of the pandemic with 74 Covid-19 deaths recorded in the latest reporting period.
A woman walks past the Sydney Harbour Bridge after stay-at-home orders were lifted across NSW. Photo: AFP / 2021 Anadolu Agency
Australia has reported 74 Covid-19 deaths today, the highest figure since the pandemic started.
New South Wales has reported 36 deaths, Victoria 22 and Queensland has recorded 16 - however not all of these deaths happened yesterday.
In NSW the number of people with the virus in hospital rose to 2850, while ICU admissions were up slightly to 209.
There were a total of 29,830 new cases in the reporting period, taken from 13,763 RAT tests and 16,067 PCR tests.
Previously, the highest number of deaths recorded in a day was 29.
The latest fatality figure brings the total number of NSW Covid-19 deaths to 919.
Despite the growing death toll, a strained health system and worker shortages across many sectors, Premier Dominic Perrottet was confident about his government's handling of the outbreak.
"Based on the vaccination rate in this state … we can remain safe and will push through this next challenging period of time," he told ABC Radio Sydney this morning.
"This is not simply a New South Wales issue - this is a global issue ... and our settings mirror the settings in Victoria.
"We're not an island here in New South Wales."
Perrottet acknowledged people were anxious about the state's virus crisis, but insisted living with Covid-19 was the only way forward.
"[Lockdowns] might minimise transmission of the virus but then as you open up again we will have the virus spread," he said.
He said the government was considering further support packages for businesses.
"You don't rush support out," Perrottet said.
"What you do is analyse and consult and work out where is the need, where's the best place to provide that support and then deliver it."
A shipment of 12 million rapid antigen tests ordered by the NSW government arrived in Sydney overnight and would be a core component to the Premier's response to the Omicron outbreak.
He said the RATs would be a cornerstone of the NSW government's blueprint to get children back in classrooms. The final return-to-school plan is expected to be announced tomorrow.
"To all parents, from the state's perspective, we are completely committed to ensuring that we have schools open on day one term one in a safe environment for both your children and for teachers right across the board."
"The World Health [Organisation] has said, schools should be the last to close and the first to open."
While the use of the home-testing kits was encouraged by health authorities since December, the Premier said the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) only approved them a month earlier.
"I think globally the experience in terms of the spread of Omicron has been more widespread than anyone anticipated," he said.
Queensland records 15,000 new cases, 16 deaths
Queensland has recorded 16 more deaths from Covid-19 - the highest daily death toll for the state since the start of the pandemic.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said 45 people had died in Queensland from Covid-19 in the current Omicron wave but only one of those had received a vaccine booster shot.
The state confirmed more than 15,000 new cases and there are 50 people in ICU.
Chief health officer John Gerrard said the numbers were rising and it was what the state predicted as it headed towards its peak.
He said while the number of people in hospital for Covid-19 had risen significantly compared to 702 cases yesterday, he would not make too much out of it just yet.
"The numbers are going up, there's no question about that," Dr Gerrard said.
"That is what we've been predicting, we're heading towards our peak, that is still projected to be towards the end of this month."
Victoria puts health system in 'code brown'
The Victorian government has said it will issue a statewide Code Brown for its health service, which may postpone leave for thousands of staff and defer non-essential services.
In Victoria, there are currently 1152 people in hospital with Covid-19, a slight reduction in the 1229 reported on Monday.
Of the patients in hospital, there are 127 in intensive care, 43 of whom are receiving ventilation.
Meanwhile, the state recorded a further 22 deaths today
A Code Brown is usually reserved for external emergencies such as natural disasters and mass casualty events.
It is the first time that the emergency setting has been activated in multiple hospitals across the state.
It formalises and streamlines the health system's emergency management in response to the growing number of people in hospitals.
The Code Brown will come into force at midday on Wednesday for all metropolitan hospitals and six regional hospitals, with each site to put in place different strategies to respond to the activation.
Acting Minister for Health James Merlino said the healthcare system was buckling under the Omicron wave, and it was "the right time" to issue the Code Brown to anticipate a peak in hospitalisations which could see more than 2500 Covid-19 patients.
- ABC